With Gorilla Glass 4, your next phone shouldn't shatter when dropped

We're going bananas for this!

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We've all had that gut-wrenching moment of dropping a phone onto the pavement and slowly picking it up, dreading what's in store when we turn it over to reveal the screen. But Corning may have gone some way to make that experience a little less painful with the announcement of Gorilla Glass 4.

The new material is designed to take on pavements and other rough surfaces with ease. Corning states that Gorilla Glass 4 is up to 2X stronger than unnamed competitor glass when dropped.

In fact, Corning says that 80% of the time Gorilla Glass 4 will remain unbroken when dropped from a height of one metre.

So you're not advised to throw your phone at any walls, but should you ever drop it, there's a good chance that you won't be coughing up for a new screen.

80% of the time it works every time

Phone makers won't need to worry about any added bulk as the new glass is a thin and lights as its predecessor - just much more damage resistant.

We expect it won't be long before we start seeing Gorilla Glass 4 making its way onto our phones and tablets (Gorilla says a lot of manufacturers are already interested) though our local phone repair shop probably won't be thrilled with the news.

You can read Corning's full test report with all the gory details here.